


2am Chess

by DraniKitty



Series: Short stories from the Garbage Court [13]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Chess, fae manipulation discussed, semi-deep discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5022352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DraniKitty/pseuds/DraniKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chess at 2 in the morning can provoke some thoughtful discussions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	2am Chess

Will wasn't sure what had awoken him. He had no homework, he had no classes the next day. There were no frets or worries that should have stirred him from sleep. And yet here he was, staring at his bedroom ceiling, hearing the sound of Smith snoring in the next room. He reached up, rubbing his face, quietly cursing to himself.

Smith's snoring stopped, the sound of a mumbled complaint reaching his ears. Trott had probably woken up, too, shushing Smith. Everything went quiet again, before the quiet sound of music reached his ears. That was odd...

He sat up, rubbing one eye before fumbling for his glasses, putting them on. Somebody else was awake, more than the cursory need to stop Smith's snoring. Sliding his slippers on, Will got up, walking to the door and peeking out. No light came from the master bedroom, but a lamp in the living room cast shadows across the small hallway. His footsteps were muffled by the slippers as he walked, peeking first in the master bedroom's door. Smith, Trott, and Ross were all clumped together, sleeping away, but no Sips in sight. It didn't take more than a few seconds to figure out where the mortal king was.

When he walked into the living room, Will wasn't surprised to find Sips up. What had him surprised was that he was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, the space cleaned off with a chess board set up. He was just placing one of the last pieces when he looked up.

"Hey there, kiddo. Care for a game of chess?" The question was asked so candidly, as if it wasn't two in the morning and most of the city wasn't asleep. He motioned to the board, then turned it slightly. "Don't know which side you'd want, though. I'm not partial."

Will sat down across from him, shrugging. "Doesn't matter to me, either." After a pause, he turned the board so the white pieces were on Sips' side. "But the king should go first, it's only proper."

Sips let out a chuckle, resting his elbows on the coffee table and his nose against his hands. "Your family taught you good manners." He reached over, moving not a pawn but one of the knights to C6 first. "Never let go of them."

He stared at the board, surprised by the first move. "Manners are something everybody should have. Why did you move the knight first?" He didn't wait for an answer, moving his pawn from C2 to C3.

He got an impassive shrug. "Why not? It's the only piece besides pawns that can move first thing in the game." Sips stared at the board for a moment, before moving the pawn from B7 to B5.

Will was thoughtful, contemplating his next move. Finally, he moved a different pawn. "And then you can clear space up, and move the queen."

"Not all about the queen moving, it's about protecting the king." Sips reached over, moving another piece. "It's more about strategy than anything, though, how you use your pieces. Even something as simple as a pawn can win the game."

He blinked, then moved one of his knights, taking Sips' pawn. "That's one way to look at it.." He sat back, staring at the board for a bit. "I wonder, though, why does the white side always go first?"

Sips moved another of his pawns, clearing space for a bishop to make a future move. "Convoluted notions of right and wrong, I guess. Not sure on the history of that." When he looked up, he was met with a confused expression. "Right and wrong can be subjective at the best of times, kiddo, same as good and evil."

"What, like... Fae?" He reached up, taking another pawn with his knight.

"Guess you could say that. They're not too much different than you and me, really." He moved the bishop, taking the knight. "Remember that Smiffy hunts because he has to, like a tiger in a jungle. Lots of fae do that, not because they want to but because they have to. Something about humans nourishes them, and if they go too long, they suffer for it."

He rested his elbows on the coffee table, chin on top of his hands. "So... Like a panda bear, but way more dangerous." After some thought, he moved his second knight, making sure it wasn't in reach of being taken. "They can eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but they still need bamboo."

Sips let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah, if you wanna look at it that way!" He moved his own second knight, putting it in position to take a pawn. "Point is, a lot of fae are just trying to live within the confines of the rules they live by, the magic that governs them. Nothing's free, not even magic." He pointed at Will, leveling a look at him. "Your uncle probably has rules HE has to live by with his own magic, so does his witch friend and her apprentice, and every other witch in this city and the world itself."

Tapping his fingers on the table, Will let out a sound. "I suppose you're right..." He looked at the board, then moved one of his own bishops, in line to protect the king if Sips moved his knight the right way. "But then, where would humans stand, morally, against fae? We're just trying to survive, same as they are." He tapped at the table again. "The majority just choose to try and somehow avoid fae in their lives, despite living here. Kind of impossible, if you ask me."

The bark of laughter Sips let out somehow managed to remain quiet enough to not stir the sleeping. "Crammed together like sardines, all of us!" He settled, examining the board, contemplating his next move. "You're right, avoiding fae is damn near impossible. Everybody's got one right next door, or right upstairs, or they'll run into one at the grocer." After some consideration, he reached over and moved another pawn. He could see a few ways to bring about a check, but he wanted to delay it.

Will watched the piece move, leaning back on his hands. "I've noticed something since moving to this city, and especially since joining the court."

"Yeah?"

"There's three kinds of people." He held his right hand up, the middle, ring, and pinky fingers up. He folded the middle finger down. "The people who, like you and me, just embrace the fae of the city, what they are, what they do, and willingly give ourselves up to them, despite what everybody around us tells us." He folded down his ring finger. "Those that know about the fae, are more than aware of them, and try to somehow avoid them, like Uncle Xephos."

"And the third kind?"

Leaning forward, Will moved his pawn to block Sips' pawn. "They're in denial. They refuse to believe that fae are real, that they exist, and that they're all around us. They tread a much more dangerous line than we do, with our embracing of everything about them, because the ones in denial can very easily offend a fae and won't know it until they're dead or dying. They become lunch for kelpies, targets for nixies, snacks for who knows what else."

Sips was quiet, staring at Will, considering the weight of his words. He glanced at the board, part of his mind considering his next move, while the other part considered the razor's edge that they both walked day in and day out. They were fully aware of the danger they were in, and fully embraced it. Finally, he moved his bishop, taking a pawn with no safeguards around it. "So what does that say about us, and people like your uncle?"

"That we're either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid." He rubbed his chin, thinking about his next move. "We're surrounded by fae, by our own choosing, every day. Any one of them could easily kill us, or snare us in an unpayable debt, and we know it. Yet we keep on, facing the danger like a tight-rope walker across a canyon." After a moment, he moved his rook, finally exposed to movement. "As for people like my uncle, they walk the safest path, knowing of the fae and doing everything they can to avoid being snared."

This time his chuckle was much quieter than the previous laugh, as Sips reached up and effortlessly took a pawn with his knight. "Like we've walked right into Hell to barter with Satan himself."

He watched the pawn vanish to the other side, claimed by Sips. "That's another way to look at it. But what does that mean of everybody else? Are those who are ignorant and in denial in purgatory?" Will reached across, moving his rook to take the knight. It hadn't worked out how he'd expected, but he'd still snagged the knight. "And if they're in purgatory, who's in heaven, if we're in Hell?"

Sips stared at Will for a moment, blinking. "I think it's a bit of an odd hour to think about life in those terms." The truth was, he wasn't sure. He'd been taught about heaven, Hell, and purgatory growing up, sure, but he wasn't sure how it all applied to the denizens of the city, human or otherwise. His gaze fell back to the board, considering his moves. After some thought, he moved the queen. "You know, I once compared the whole city to a chess board."

"I've seen the city's layout on maps, this is no grid." It was chaotic at best, with streets running at odd angles. Some ran for only a block in either direction before ending, others looped back around on themselves. Part of it probably had to be blamed on the rivers and lake that bordered it all and ran through it. "Unless you mean in terms of the courts." He moved his rook, making sure it proved a tempting piece for Sips to take with his queen.

He gave another short, low laugh. "Of course I meant the courts." He reached up, moving the queen to actively avoid the rook. He wasn't falling for the trap. "Sidhe lords are the kings, like me, and we each have a queen, a rook or two, a knight or two, and a bishop or two." He rested his finger on the queen. "Trott's queen of the court, mothering on you all. Ross is the rook, Smith's the knight..."

"And I'm the bishop."

"Smart. You are, yes." He sat back, crossing his arms. "We're always playing chess around here, Will. The fae courts are always vying for squares, for pieces of the city. Whoever has the most, is seen as the leader of the whole city, not just their court."

Will moved a fresh pawn, creating another temptation for Sips' queen. Eventually he'd fall for the trap, snared like a rabbit's foot in a noose. "And most of the big courts answer to one..."

"Exactly." Sitting back up, Sips moved his queen, taking the pawn right in front of the second bishop. "Check."

He considered moving his king, continuing the game, but sleep had begun to edge back into his brain. He cracked a smile, the tiredness seeping into it. "I think I'll bow out to your graceful victory." He reached across the table, hand out for a shake. "Good game!"

Sips took the offered hand, shaking it with his own smile. "Same to you." He grabbed the box, carefully placing each piece in it. "You go on back to bed while I put this away."

Standing up, Will stretched out. "You sure? I don't mind helping."

"Nah, I got it. I'm the one who got the set out."

"Okay." He started back to his room, then paused. Tapping his leg for a moment, Will padded back over, leaning down to give Sips a hug. "Goodnight, Sips." Before he could lose his nerve, he planted a kiss on his king's cheek, then rose, hurrying off to his room, cheeks tinged red.

Sips could only blink, before chuckling, a smile on his face as he finished putting the glass pieces carefully in their individual little pockets.

**Author's Note:**

> Went and got a chess game on Steam to try and replicate in this... Gave up after a single game. Not sure how realistic this game actually is with how it plays out.


End file.
